
Thank you to everyone who read my post on Monday. I was slightly hesitant to share that story—leaving the security of a job and leaping off into space!—but your thoughtful comments, emails, and Facebook notes warmed my heart. I really appreciate all of you. You’re so sweet and encouraging!
In high school, well before food blogging entered my brain, I baked. A lot. I started out on the simple stuff: boxed brownie mixes and cookies from scratch, with chocolate chips or oatmeal and raisins thrown in. But when senior year began, I decided that my baking skills should graduate and earn a diploma too, so I dusted off Mom’s Betty Crocker Cookbook and skimmed through the pages.
I stopped in the Muffins and Quick Breads section when I saw a recipe for banana bread. I looked around the kitchen, spotted a few speckled bananas left over from last week’s lunches, and smiled. Perfect!
Still health-conscious back then, I shorted the oil and substituted an extra banana instead. I spread the batter into the pan, waited impatiently for an hour while the oven worked its magic, and wore a hole in the floor from pacing back and forth while the loaf cooled. (Yes, I still did my homework somewhere in there too—I promise!)
You know the phrase, “All’s fair in love and war”? Well, add banana bread to that too. Once the bread knife came out, it was every man for himself! Mom and I generally spent the most time in the kitchen and therefore snuck the greatest number of slices, whereas Dad worked long hours and barely averaged one piece per loaf.
But before you feel sorry for him, you should know that bananas weren’t all that popular in our brown bag lunches, so I baked at least one loaf of banana bread every week of September that year!
In honor of my mom sticking to her new diet, I made this loaf a little different. It’s gluten-free and clean-eating friendly! I chose coconut and rice flours for their nutty and sweet tastes. While many gluten-free flours can be substituted cup-for-cup for all-purpose flour, coconut flour cannot. Coconut flour is 3-4 times as absorbent as regular flour, so you only need ¼ to ⅓ as much. (Remember to measure it correctly!)
You’ll use 1 medium banana for this bread, and the spottier the better! As bananas ripen, they convert their starches to sugar, so you’ll need less additional sweetener with very speckled bananas. I opted for honey because it pairs perfectly with bananas, but you could substitute agave or maple syrup to make the banana bread vegan.
When combining the wet and dry ingredients the batter will look fairly thin. You must let the batter sit untouched for 10 minutes before spreading it into the pan because the coconut flour needs extra time to absorb the liquids. This step is mandatory! The batter magically thickens while you wait, resulting in the regular consistency you’d expect.
I saved the pecans to sprinkle on top because, umm, I don’t actually like nuts in my banana bread! I pick them all out and eat them separately, so leaving them as a garnish makes it easier for me. (And I think the loaf looks prettier like that.) But you could easily fold them into the batter instead!
Before popping the loaf into the oven, be sure you cover the pan with foil. This prevents the top from browning too quickly and keeps the nuts from burning. Nobody wants pecans that taste like charcoal!
This Pecan Banana Bread is incredibly moist and packed with flavor, without being overbearing or overly sweet. You’ll love eating a slice of this for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert. Trust me, I did all 3—and I finished the entire loaf in less than 24 hours!
Time to buy more bananas!
This bread is moist, dense, and lightly sweetened—exactly the way banana bread should be! Store any leftovers in an air-tight container for up to 5 days.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F, and lightly coat an 8”x4” loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice flour, coconut flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted butter and egg whites until frothy. Stir in the mashed banana, yogurt, honey, and vanilla. Add in the flour mixture, mixing well. Let the batter rest for 10 minutes to allow the coconut flour to absorb the liquid.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top with the pecans, and lightly press them into the batter. Cover the top with tin foil. Bake at 325°F for 45 minutes; then remove the foil and continue baking for another 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Note: For a vegan version, substitute margarine for butter; 1 tablespoon Ener-G + ¼ cup warm water for the egg whites; any non-dairy yogurt for the Greek yogurt; and agave or maple syrup for the honey.
Oh Amy, I just adore you!! Can we please be roommates and just bake together all day!?!? We could collaborate and write a cookbook..TOGETHER! I’m sure it would be a HIT! This bread look so delicious, I loveee banana bread!
YES YES YES!! I would love that Brittany! We’d have the best-smelling house in the neighborhood! I can picture it now… Sweet smells of cupcakes and cookies wafting down the streets and bringing hungry people to our doorstep. It’d be SO much fun!!
This looks like a great reason to buy coconut flour. I’m ready!
Yay! Safeway doesn’t usually have coconut flour, but places like Whole Foods or Genes might!
Love that this is gluten free! Those pecans on top make it look really pretty too!
Thank you Laura! I love leaving the nuts on top — so much easier to pick them off and eat them first!
This looks absolutely delicious!! I love all those healthy additions and the fact that you only used 3 tablespoons of honey!! I am adding this to my baking list. 🙂
Thank you Annie! I love using honey because it tastes a lot sweeter than sugar, so I can get away with using less. I can’t wait to hear what you think of the banana bread! 🙂
Really delicious. The honey is the perfect sweetener for this bread and adds a sort of gingerbread-y “je ne sais quoi”! Your recipes are always spot on. Thank you!
Thank you Billie! Your kind comment means a lot to me — I’m so touched that you’ve made my recipe and enjoyed it! 🙂
I made this. It was DELICIOUS! I have been on the hunt for a good gf banana bread. But all the ones I have tried were crumbly >:(. This was fantastic. Thank you so much!
I’m so happy you enjoyed my recipe! That’s awful about crumbly banana bread. I like mine incredibly moist, almost to the point of underdone! 😉
Amy,
This bread looks delicious! Am I able to substitute whole wheat flour for the coconut & rice flour? Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Sheila! If you don’t need your banana bread to be gluten-free, then I actually suggest using this recipe of mine instead. It already calls for whole wheat flour, so you won’t need to make any substitutions! (And if you aren’t a fan of other fruits in your banana bread, just omit the cranberries!) 🙂 I can’t wait to hear what you think of the banana bread!
Hi Amy, would love to know how many grams is the rice flour for 1/2 cup? thank you! 🙂
For the rice flour, ½ cup is 60 grams! I can’t wait to hear what you think of this banana bread Kesha! 🙂